Tag: UFC fight booking

Ben Rothwell has been enjoying quite the little career resurgence in recent years. After starting his UFC career off a mediocre 2-2, “Big Ben” has been running roughshod over every heavyweight he’s faced in the past three years. Even more impressive than the wins themselves has been the ways in which Rothwell has been finishing his opponents, which include a knockout win over former K1 champion Alistair Overeem and most recently, a submission of the previously unsubmittable Josh Barnett at UFC on FOX 18.

When Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort first met in the octagon, the former was an unstoppable, arrogant-bordering-on-cocky champion and the latter was a battle-tested veteran who would supposedly serve as his toughest test to date. They shared many similarities beyond their penchant for knocking people out (they’re both Brazilian!), but when push came to shove, Silva emerged as the clearly superior fighter.

Four years later, Silva has lost his title, broken his leg in the cage, and been popped for PED’s which may or may not have been caused by Thai black market sex pills, while Belfort himself has also lost a title bid and done pretty much everything within his power to deflect criticism from his PED-riddled past. Again, the similarities are striking here, which is perhaps why the two former champions have once again been booked to throw down.

As crazy as it may sound to haters like Uproxx’s Jessica Hudnall, Ryan Bader should be looking at a title shot right now. He’s won five straight in a weight class that is nearly impossible to do so in, he’s done so over increasingly impressive competition, and he’s looked more and more well-rounded with each performance. On the heels of a one-sided decision win over returning former champ Rashad Evans, it seemed as if Bader was all but guaranteed to be the man to face the winner of Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier (which FYI, will be Jon Jones).

But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about the modern era of the UFC, it’s that Reebok Fight Kits are terrible. If there’s a second thing we’ve learned, it’s that title fights are *never* guaranteed. As such, Bader has once again been passed over and instead booked against his toughest opponent to date…

Now, let’s all try not to get too excited about the news we’re about to deliver, because we all know the long and heartbreaking history of one of the competitors involved, but OMG DOMMY CRUZ VS TJ DILLY IS FINALLY GON’ HAPPEN!!!!!!

It’s the most heated rivalry in the heavyweight division today, and on Saturday, Dec. 19, Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem settle the score in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

In the FOX-televised card’s main event, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone challenges for a UFC title for the first time when he battles lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in a highly-anticipated rematch.

On the heels of a technical draw with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s crew in the WSOF lobby, it appears that Nate Diaz is once again ready to do some fighting *inside* the octagon. You know, for money this time, because apparently the royalty checks he’s collecting for being the first guy to use the middle finger as a taunt aren’t quite cutting it.

A little over a year removed from his last actual in-ring confrontation (a one-sided decision loss to Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 13), Diaz will return to the octagon at UFC on FOX 17 in December, facing rising contender turned recent robbery victim Michael Johnson.

For a while there, it seemed as if we were all but destined to see Ronda Rousey take on her arch-rival not named Cyborg for a third time following their respective wins over Bethe Correia and Jessica Eye, but today brings word of a fight many of us probably didn’t see coming.

During an appearance on Good Morning America earlier today, Rousey herself made the announcement that her next title defense won’t be against Miesha Tate, nor will it be against Cyborg, but against former pro boxer/kickboxer turned undefeated MMA fighter Holly Holm, at UFC 195. Or to put it another way: The lamb has passed through the gate. It has come to the killing floor. Its blind eyes see nothing of the horrors to come.

(There’s probably a fight happening somewhere in this picture, but I’ll be damned if I can see anything but Mike Beltran’s awesome beard. Look at how it flows with the wind, Nation, like a field of wheat or those giant rubber wipers at a carwash that you would always pretend were octopus tentacles when you were a kid. Remember being that age, your mind full of wonder and excitement at even the simplest of things? Now there is only cynicism. Cynicism and self-loathing brought about by your lack of a beard as cool as Mike Beltran’s……………………………

…………………………………………….I have completely forgotten what I was talking about.)

We know that declaring any UFC card in today’s era as “stacked” is all but the kiss of death, but you guys, UFC 194 is stacked. That it only has three fights booked so far is a testament to how stacked it is, and unfortunately also a testament to how doomed it is to lose at least one of those fights within the coming weeks.

I don’t know if it’s possible, but the hype surrounding Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor might be greater now than ever before. Not only do we have moments like the one above to remind us how much these two truly despise one another, but toss in the fact that McGregor will now be entering the fight sporting a belt of his own — one that he by earned by defeating Aldo’s greatest rival until now, no less — and you’ve got yourself a whole new wrinkle of this rivalry to exploit. The amount of smack McGregor is going to talk about Aldo pulling out of UFC 189 alone will make for must-see TV.

In any case, it was announced late last night that Aldo and McGregor are once again set to do battle in what will surely be the biggest featherweight title fight ever, and possibly the biggest fight in the history of the promotion. The Date: December 12th. The venue: The MGM Grand in Las Vegas (a.k.a “Definitely Not Cowboys Stadium”). Said Yahoo’s Kevin Iole…

Fresh off their crowd-pleasing, uber-violent wins over Rory MacDonald and Thiago Alves, respectively, the UFC announced via UFC Tonight yesterday that welterweight champion Robbie Lawler will defend his title against Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 193 on November 14th in Melbourne, Australia. Said an official UFC spokesman:

With the next welterweight champion set to be determined in November, you’re probably wondering, “Well, who will be the next NEXT challenger?! I need to know NOW!!!” First off, calm down and stop being so goddamn needy, and secondly, the UFC is already one step and a few billion dollars ahead of you…